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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

脫穎而出

/tʰu̯ɔ⁵⁵ iŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵⁵/
to be revealed; to come to the fore; to rise above others
  • 穎脫而出
  • 脱颖而出
  • 颖脱而出
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Etymology graph

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The phrase describes a talent emerging prominently, much like a sharp, superior ear of grain rising above a field of crops.
The phrase describes a talent emerging prominently, much like a sharp, superior ear of grain rising above a field of crops.

Origin

The phrase is formed with 脫, meaning to take off clothes, to peel off, or to strip. This character contains the semantic component 肉 (meat; flesh) and the phonetic component 兌 (opening, aperture; especially one of the sense organs). The character 兌 is composed of 八 (eight), 㕣 (marsh in between mountains), 口 (mouth), 儿 (standing person), and 人 (man; person).

It is also formed with 穎, meaning ear of grain. This character uses the semantic component 禾 (grain; cereal) and the phonetic component 頃 (a unit of area). The character 頃 is composed of 匕 (a kind of spoon in ancient China) and 頁 (sheet of paper). The character 頁 contains 首 (head) and 卩 (kneeling person).

Finally, the phrase includes 而, used to connect two clauses or adjectives, and 出, meaning to go out, to leave, or to exit. The character 出 is composed of 止 (foot) and 凵 (to open one's mouth).

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese脫 “to take off (clothes); to peel off; to strip”
    • meaningChinese肉 “meat; flesh”
    • soundChinese兌 “opening, aperture; (especially) one of the sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, mouth)”
      • ideaChinese八 “eight”
      • soundChinese㕣 “marsh in between mountains”
      • ideaChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”
      • meaningChinese儿 “standing person”
      • ideaChinese人 “man; person; people (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 h)”
  • characterChinese穎 “ear of grain”
    • meaningChinese禾 “grain; cereal”
    • soundChinese頃 “A unit of area equal to 100 畝／亩 (mǔ) or 6.67 hectares.”
      • ideaChinese匕 “a kind of spoon in ancient China”
      • ideaChinese頁 “sheet (of paper)”
        • componentChinese首 “head”
        • componentChinese卩 “kneeling person”
  • characterChinese而 “and (used to connect two clauses or adjectives)”
  • characterChinese出 “to go out; to leave; to exit”
    • ideaChinese止 “foot”
    • ideaChinese凵 “to open one's mouth”
Wiktionary etymology text

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Meanings

phrase
  1. to be revealed; to come to the fore; to rise above others

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 顯露才能，超越眾人。 例：他在這次測驗中脫穎而出，名列前茅。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0